Universal gap fluctuations in the superconductor proximity effect

Random-matrix theory is used to study the mesoscopic fluctuations of the excitation gap in a metal grain or quantum dot induced by the proximity to a superconductor. We propose that the probability distribution of the gap is a universal function in rescaled units. Our analytical prediction for the g...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inPhysical review letters Vol. 86; no. 5; p. 874
Main Authors Vavilov, M G, Brouwer, P W, Ambegaokar, V, Beenakker, C W
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 29.01.2001
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Summary:Random-matrix theory is used to study the mesoscopic fluctuations of the excitation gap in a metal grain or quantum dot induced by the proximity to a superconductor. We propose that the probability distribution of the gap is a universal function in rescaled units. Our analytical prediction for the gap distribution agrees well with exact diagonalization of a model Hamiltonian.
ISSN:0031-9007
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevLett.86.874